South Korea Group Trip 2024

What it is: This trip is an 10 day group trip of South Korea, with an optional 4 night extension to Jeju Island.  The base trip includes 3 nights in Seoul, 1 night in Gyeongju, 2 nights in Busan, and 2 nights in Seoul. As an optional extension, you can add 3 nights on Jeju Island (South Korea’s Hawaii), and 1 night in Seoul to round out your trip. Transportation on the mainland will be via train, bus, uber, and public transportation. If you choose the extension, this includes a road trip around Jeju Island, sometimes called the Hawaii of Korea. The base trip target dates are August 8-17, 2024, with the extension ending on August 21st. The group size is 8-10 people and the age is 21 and up. The target price is $1500 for the base trip + airfare and food, and $1900 with the extension + airfare and food. The final registration deadline is March 10th, 2024.

Goal: The primary goal of this trip is to explore the culture and history of the Southern half of the Korean Peninsula. The secondary goal is to have fun doing it. I cannot promise you that I won’t make any mistakes as a newbie tour guide, but I can promise that I will be responsible to solve it. You can just relax and enjoy the ride! Along the way you can anticipate nearly 2000 years of history, family style meals, humidity, mountains, and coffee shops!  There is no end to the cute cafe culture in South Korea. Of note, as this is a road trip, you can expect off the beaten path stops, allowing you to experience unfiltered South Korea at its finest.

Itinerary: Special note: The itinerary has been updated based on feedback from interested parties. Read the details here.

Fly to Seoul, South Korea on August 8, 2024 and home from Seoul, South Korea on August 17, 2024. The base trip includes 3 nights in Seoul, 1 night in Gyeongju, 2 nights in Busan, and 2 nights in Seoul. As an optional extension, you can add 3 nights on Jeju Island (South Korea’s Hawaii), and 1 night in Seoul to round out your trip. Transportation on the mainland will be via train, bus, uber, and public transportation. If you choose the extension, this includes a road trip around Jeju Island, sometimes called the Hawaii of Korea. A volcanic island rich in natural beauty, small towns, waterfalls, tea plantations, and unreal sunsets, this extension will round out your trip with some vacation down time. We will fly back to Seoul for one night to catch our flight home on August 21st. Optional tours are noted in the itinerary and below.

South Korea is roughly 97% Korean, so you can expect to be a minority, especially in rural areas.  With that in mind, it will be our job to be considerate of the culture and norms as we are the outsiders there. That being said, there are many English speakers and signs in touristy areas to help us navigate. Don’t worry, Korea is an incredibly safe and interesting place.  Crime does happen, but it’s fairly rare.  So just enjoy the ride.  You will be endlessly entertained and curious, wonderful feelings to have when traveling.  And I will help you the best I can, leaning very heavily on lessons I learned from my previous trips to Korea and my 3+ years of Korean language studying.  

Because this is a road trip, you can expect several hours in the car, specifically within the 5 day road trip portion of our itinerary and the Jeju Island portion, should you select that option. Don’t worry, South Korea is much smaller than the US and our longest drive will be under 5 hours. I will try to offer a variety of tours so you can get what you want out of each area we are in, but if you are a person who prefers to wander independently, you will need to expect to curtail that wandering some days on this trip.

Also, you can expect to walk, a lot.  Korea is 60% mountainous and the mountains don’t level themselves for the cities.  You will be hiking every day.  On the plus side, it gives you a lot of freedom to eat whatever you want!  Not to mention, we will be relying on public transportation when in cities. South Korea is very walking and public transit friendly, but that can make it tiring. You should be physically and emotionally prepared to walk more than 10,000 steps a day. Above all else, you must have a clean bill of health to travel.

Note on the flight: You will be responsible to get yourself to and from Seoul Incheon Airport, arriving by August 9 and leaving August 17 or 21st.  If you want to extend your trip in any way, you are welcome to do so.  If you need help with figuring out flights, please let me know. 

What I expect from you: I expect that you are adults. For this reason (and my own legal liabilities) you must be at least 21 to join the trip. I am agreeing to coordinate but I’m not agreeing to be a chaperone or a maid. I ask that everyone is considerate and responsible, that you ask for help if you need it, chip in where you can, keep track of your own travel documents, and you don’t wander off without telling someone.

I always say that travel is a gift. It’s an incredible privilege and my hope is that we can all keep this in mind as we go. Gratitude and grace go a long way about half way through a trip when the sun is beating down and you don’t know where the nearest bathroom is and maybe your travel coordinator is scrambling to pull the group together. So, I am asking that you bring your gratitude and your flexibility because we’ll be growing together.

Luggage Policy: If you haven’t traveled much in Asia you are going to be surprised by my next statement, but everyone will be allotted one carry on suitcase and one hand bag/backpack. First, because we are being budget friendly and probably basic economy airfare. Second, because travel= stairs and you do not want to be lugging a full sized suitcase over the notorious mountains of Seoul. Also, we will be traveling by train, car, and public transportation. You will be very thankful for packing light, even if it means you have to decide what you will wear before you get there. In light of this, I will be booking accommodations with a washer and dryer at some point on our trip in case you need to do any laundry.

Note: Some people in my past groups have opted to carry large backpacks rather than pull a suitcase around. My only word of caution in this regard is that you will possibly be carrying that backpack for a half an hour or more, depending on the commuting situation. Since this always makes me too hot and tired, I opt for a suitcase, but that’s just me.

Cost

Base trip: $1500 + airfare, food, optional tours, and souvenirs.

Base trip with 4 night extension: $1900 + airfare, food, optional tours, and souvenirs.

*Depending on final train costs, size of the group, and lodging needs.  Should this change, you will be given adequate warning.

What Is Included

Trip Planning Fee: itinerary formation and managing tour and within trip transportation bookings

Transportation between cities: Trains and buses between cities in South Korea, as well as rental car fees and flights to Jeju Island are included. Spontaneous taxis, bus from the airport, parking fees, etc, are not included in the trip price as they are difficult to calculate in advance.

Accommodations: These are double occupancy accommodations, allowing for you to share a room, but not a bed. If you are traveling with someone who you would be willing to share a bed with, let me know and I will calculate a discount for you. If you are wanting your own room, that is an option for a fee as well. Some locations may be hotels, lodges, airbnbs, or hostels. I prefer airbnbs as they get you into local neighborhoods, but I will be cross-referencing prices and booking other options if they are better.

Tours: For more information, read the itinerary.

Included Tours: DMZ, Night Market Food Tour, Hanbok rental, Wolji pond tickets, Busan cable car, Busan Guided Tour, Nami Island Day Trip

What Is Not Included:

Your international flights and public transportation. It is impossible for me to guess how much tickets will cost from each of your homes, or to calculate how many subway rides we will be taking, so I am not able to include that in the price.  However, I am happy to help you with booking, if you have any questions, and will be helping you purchase public transit tickets upon arrival.

Meals and food: Breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffee shop stops, bingsu (Korean shaved ice), etc are not included in the price. This is to allow you maximum control over your food budget and preferences. The internet recommends budgeting an additional $35-$45 a day to cover this cost, although I would keep in mind the rising price of food. I am not opposed to getting groceries for breakfast some days, or packing lunches, if the group wants to cut some corners.

Sim cards. I tried to include this last year and learned that everyone has different needs depending on their phone plan. For this reason, I will not be including it this year. If you would like advice about this, I’m happy to give it as the date of travel approaches. However, most people opt to pay the roaming fee to their phone company and keep it simple.

Souvenirs. 

Extra tours or excursions.  Optional Tours: Namsan Tower ($23), Busan Yacht Tour ($20), Seoul Cooking Class ($78), Udo excursion (~$30). If you opt out of the tours, you are welcome to use your free time as you wish. For more details, follow this link.

Travel insurance (including health insurance). Given the events of 2020, I do recommend travel insurance. I have found World Nomad’s Travel Insurance to be reasonable in the past, although I haven’t needed to file any claims yet.

Sign Up

You can sign up by following this link SIGN UP and completing the trip application. Registration deadline is March 10, 2024.

The Payment Plan

If you have read all the way to the bottom of this page, I’m assuming you are pretty interested in this trip. Hooray! If you are ‘in’ and ready to make it official here’s the plan:

1. Follow the link to Sign up and confirm your spot.  
2. The final registration deadline is March 10, 2024 and the registration fee is in the form of a $100 non refundable deposit that will go towards the cost of your trip. If, for some reason, I need to cancel the trip, I will refund the money to you, no cost.
3. You may choose the pay the entirety of your debt at the time of registration or within 60 days of registering.
4. Pack your bags because…
5. Summer 2024, we will head out on the adventure of a lifetime!

NOTE: Payments are accepted via cashapp and venmo. I will share my accounts to receive payment when you sign up. This trip is non refundable and any travel insurances that you wish to purchase will be additional costs to you. Prices are subject to change, with adequate notification to participants.

There! That’s the whole thing for now! (I think)

If you have any questions, email me at: tripsbycamille@gmail.com or contact on my socials.